Turn signal effectiveness?

steve s

steve s

Well-known member
Maybe it's just me, but it happened a few times this weekend--when there happened to be a lot Model A's in town and I had occasion to follow cars with those slick little turn signals that fit between the bumper bars--that I was totally unimpressed with their effectiveness. After sitting there awhile at an intersection behind such a car, I would eventually notice, "Oh, look, he's got turn signals". To my mind, that's not good enough; they should jump out at you. I wonder if using two sets would be feasible/better?

They may be fine at night--no data on that--but I think they are of marginal usefulness on a sunny day.

Steve
 
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Get LogoLites. Some vendors call them "super bright LED turn signals." The have an electronic controller that mounts on the face of the gas tank with a big magnet. The whole setup costs a couple hundred bucks. But they are visible night and day. In fact, they show up on the brightest day.
While you are at it, buy the LED tail/stoplights for your "driver" car.
 
I have Logolites and I am, in general, happy with them. They operate as designed.

However, in broad daylight, they are not as visible as I would like (even though they LEDs), because they are mounted too low (in between the bumpers) and not quite bright enough. I think they are more noticeable and effective at night. I have had a few instances during the daytime operations when it was clear to me, that people were not "seeing" my front, or my rear directionals.
 
I commend you Pete for being safety minded. I only wish others would step up to the plate. I travel 7-9,000 miles per year and feel safe with the brighter bulbs I use.
 
I (along with several others in our club) am using the LED tail lights in combination with the stoplights as turn signals. These definitely get your attention. The lights (even the ones with LED's) that fit between the bumper rails are pretty much useless as Steve described in Post #1. When following, I know what/where to look, but if you didn't know, it's like they aren't even there.

On the front I am using the dual filament bulbs in the cowl light fixtures (clear lenses - white bulbs) and am told that they are very effective.
 
steve s said:
Maybe it's just me, but it happened a few times this weekend--when there happened to be a lot Model A's in town and I had occasion to follow cars with those slick little turn signals that fit between the bumper bars--that I was totally unimpressed with their effectiveness. After sitting there awhile at an intersection behind such a car, I would eventually notice, "Oh, look, he's got turn signals". To my mind, that's not good enough; they should jump out at you. I wonder if using two sets would be feasible/better?

They may be fine at night--no data on that--but I think they are of marginal usefulness on a sunny day.

Steve
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Steve. I've had logo lites on my 31 tudor since 2001. they are easy to put on car and GREAT AT NIGHT, BUT IN DAY LIGHT THEY SUCK. , as you have seen for yourself. have fun modelATONY lafayette,LA
 
I noticed the same thing on a friend's car! His turn signals were totally worthless. I could barely see them. But I didn't tell him because he probably felt secure in the knowledge that he had them, and any remarks from me might be taken as a "purist" insult.

I don't use electrical turn signals -- only hand signals. I found that slowing down a looooong distance from the intended turn is enough to "signal" cars behind me that something is about to happen. They "get it" and respect the old car ahead of them. I combine that with a long hand signal, and all is well. Nobody slams into me. Nobody mistakes my actions. It's always a nice gentle maneuver that keeps me safe. No need for turn signals.
 
For many years I relied on the old fashion hand signals. However, I began to notice that the younger generation does not have a clue what a hand signal is. They think you are waving at them.

I finally decided that turn signals were in order. The set up I installed on my Victoria is the Cadillac of turns signals and is pricy. However, safety was the first consideration. To install this set up the car must have two tail lights and have two cowl lights installed. My Vic is a 6-volt car, but a 12 volt version can be obtained.

From Bratton's I ordered the following:

Turn signal kit 6-volt, part number 18770, $180.00
Tail light ***'y left 6-volt LED, part number 18982, $54.50
Tail light ***'y right 6-volt LED, part number 18992, $57.25**
10 candle power cowl light bulbs, part number 18480, $1.85 each

**You can also install a left ***'y on the right side, which provides a license plate light shinning down if you want to add another plate on the right side. I did this as I have a plate that says "Repeal The 18th Amendment".

From Brakelighter I ordered a 6-volt low profile third light for the back window.
I believe the cost was about $50.00
J&L Enterprises Inc.
83 Hopkins Road
Ellington, CT 06029
860-916-3582

The turn signal kit easily incorporates into the stock Model A wiring. An activation switch mounts just below the dash rail on the left side. It is unobtrusive, out of the way, and easy to use. Another switch mounts onto the top of the left kick panel and is an emergency flasher that activates all four flashers. There is also an audio beeper that mounts under the dash rail that beeps when any flasher is activated.

The two LED tail lights are very well made and are extremely bright, both the tail lights and the stop lights. The 10 candle power cowl lights are needed to not only make for brighter lights, they are also needed to actuate the bi-metal flasher when using low current draw LED brake lights.

The low profile third light in the back window can be wired such that they are divided into two halves and each side will flash in concert with which ever flasher is activated.

I took it a step further and made a very small bracket that peeps out under the dash rail in the center. There are two very small red and green pilot lights that will flash when the turn signals are activated. Red for port, green for starboard. An added benefit is both will light when I step on the brakes telling me power is getting to the brake lights. When the turn signals are activated that side will cancel and flash while the other side stays illuminated.

Since I did the installation I noticed that they are very affective. I notice when making a left other drivers see them and turn on their turn signals if they have not done so before. The brake light flashing is very bright. A number of people have commented how bright they are. When I am signaling for a turn my new turn signals are very visible front and back.

Tom Endy
 
"I began to notice that the younger generation does not have a clue what a hand signal is. They think you are waving at them."

Tom, you are 100% right about people thinking you are waving at them instead of signaling a turn. Around my area, young and old don't seem to recognize most hand signals. Both generations DO seem to know one hand signal in particular though. :)
 
Tom Endy said:
For many years I relied on the old fashion hand signals. However, I began to notice that the younger generation does not have a clue what a hand signal is. They think you are waving at them.

I finally decided that turn signals were in order. The set up I installed on my Victoria is the Cadillac of turns signals and is pricy. However, safety was the first consideration. To install this set up the car must have two tail lights and have two cowl lights installed. My Vic is a 6-volt car, but a 12 volt version can be obtained.

From Bratton's I ordered the following:

Turn signal kit 6-volt, part number 18770, $180.00
Tail light ***'y left 6-volt LED, part number 18982, $54.50
Tail light ***'y right 6-volt LED, part number 18992, $57.25**
10 candle power cowl light bulbs, part number 18480, $1.85 each

**You can also install a left ***'y on the right side, which provides a license plate light shinning down if you want to add another plate on the right side. I did this as I have a plate that says "Repeal The 18th Amendment".

From Brakelighter I ordered a 6-volt low profile third light for the back window.
I believe the cost was about $50.00
J&L Enterprises Inc.
83 Hopkins Road
Ellington, CT 06029
860-916-3582

The turn signal kit easily incorporates into the stock Model A wiring. An activation switch mounts just below the dash rail on the left side. It is unobtrusive, out of the way, and easy to use. Another switch mounts onto the top of the left kick panel and is an emergency flasher that activates all four flashers. There is also an audio beeper that mounts under the dash rail that beeps when any flasher is activated.

The two LED tail lights are very well made and are extremely bright, both the tail lights and the stop lights. The 10 candle power cowl lights are needed to not only make for brighter lights, they are also needed to actuate the bi-metal flasher when using low current draw LED brake lights.

The low profile third light in the back window can be wired such that they are divided into two halves and each side will flash in concert with which ever flasher is activated.

I took it a step further and made a very small bracket that peeps out under the dash rail in the center. There are two very small red and green pilot lights that will flash when the turn signals are activated. Red for port, green for starboard. An added benefit is both will light when I step on the brakes telling me power is getting to the brake lights. When the turn signals are activated that side will cancel and flash while the other side stays illuminated.

Since I did the installation I noticed that they are very affective. I notice when making a left other drivers see them and turn on their turn signals if they have not done so before. The brake light flashing is very bright. A number of people have commented how bright they are. When I am signaling for a turn my new turn signals are very visible front and back.

Tom Endy
Click to expand...

Neat stuff but are they self cancelling??
 
"Neat stuff but are they self cancelling??"

You have to manually self cancel them, but you will do that because you will not want to continue listening to the beeper.

Tom Endy
 
steve s said:
They may be fine at night--no data on that--but I think they are of marginal usefulness on a sunny day.
Click to expand...

Agreed - LED lights may be bright, but simply don't have the "presence" of filament bulbs of a similar size. I realise a lot of modern cars have LED lighting, but the light design is made for them! My Wifes car has LED fibre-optic tail lights, but they are designed to present the light over a large diffuse area - each one probably 10 to 12 times the size of a Model A tail. A lot of LED bulds concentrate the light in a small area, and are very directional.

Our lights can be seen here : http://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showpost.php?p=563861&postcount=17

The brakelighter LED strip in the back window is pretty much useless on a bright NZ Summer day. The 21w bulbs are FAR more visible, even though they are smaller. Having said that, the Brakelighter is at eye level for a lot of drivers, so is somewhat effective.

The first prerequisite for our lights was that they must be visible BEFORE you need to use them. As you mention, lights hidden away aren't obvious, so people don't see them. On a modern car, you KNOW where they lights are, so see them when they operate, even if it's mostly at a subconcious level.

The other thing I like about our lights, is that they are of the correct "style" for the car, even though they aren't "correct"
 
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